Particle.news
Download on the App Store
5 ARTICLES
·
15h ago

Measles Cases Top 1,277 in U.S., Highest Since 2000

Health officials caution that sustained transmission from the West Texas cluster could strip the U.S. of its measles elimination status.

Anna Hicks prepares a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine at the Andrews County Health Department, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Andrews, Texas. (AP Photo/Annie Rice)
Hundreds of measles cases have been reported in Gaines County, Texas, where vaccination rates were far below recommended levels.
A measles advisory is shown tacked to a bulletin board outside Gaines County Courthouse on April 09, 2025 in Seminole, Texas. A second confirmed measles-related death has been reported in the city of Lubbock amidst an ongoing outbreak which began in late January. As of early April, the Texas Department of State Health Services has confirmed more than 500 cases within 22 counties, ranging from the South Plains toward the Panhandle.
The CDC recommends that children get their first dose of the MMR vaccine when they turn 1, but local governments in places with outbreaks or elevated risk of transmission often recommend early vaccination for infants as young as 6 months.

Overview

  • About 753 cases—more than half of the nationwide total—are linked to the West Texas outbreak that began in late January in undervaccinated Gaines County.
  • Hospitalizations have reached at least 155 patients, and three unvaccinated individuals—two children in Texas and one adult in New Mexico—have died this year.
  • At least 27 separate outbreaks have been identified across 39 states, spurring expanded vaccination clinics, early dosing guidance and travel advisories.
  • State data show nearly one in four kindergartners in Gaines County lack the required MMR vaccine, reflecting broader declines that leave herd immunity out of reach.
  • Federal experts warn that if case counts continue rising through January, the U.S. could officially lose its measles elimination status for the first time since 2000.